The Journey Through Tartarus
by BookWormProud97
Summary: After retrieving the Athena Parthenos and coming so close to victory, Percabeth is pulled into Tartarus... can they make it to the Doors of Death? Or will Gaea spill their blood and reek havoc on Olympus once and for all?
1. The Nine Day Fall

***ANNABETH***

Darkness, that was all there was anymore. It had been that way for hours now, nothing changed, nothing at all, just darkness. Occasionally there would be a sound, nothing discernible, just muffled whispers that found their way through the whoosh of wind in her ears. For awhile she had blacked out, from a few minutes after Percy let go to now, but that was only a guess, time was immeasurable down here. When she had come to, she was wrapped up in a set of strong arms, Percy. He was whispering to her that it was going to be okay, that they would find a way out, that he loved her.

"Oh thank the gods Annabeth, I thought you'd been knocked out or something when you hit that ledge." His voice was raw with relief.

Annabeth smiled to herself, he was so sweet when they were in danger, which seemed quite frequent nowadays. She imagined what his face would look like if she could see it, cute with worry as always.

"Its my ankle, I think that's why I passed out." She moved her foot a bit, for all she knew it could have disappeared with Arachne, she couldn't see anything." Annabeth gasped as a sharp twinge shot up her leg, it was still there, and hurt like a hellhound. Percy readjusted himself in the air as best he could, to support her ankle on his thigh, this way she was curled up against his chest. She closed her eyes and breathed him in. Even down here in the dark, surrounded by whispers of evil, he still gave off that distinctive sea-breeze scent, her fear subsided as she was engulfed with the smell, she could almost trick herself into thinking she was on the coast in Long Island rather than here. Percy tightened his arms, so much so that she was having a hard time breathing, but she didn't tell him to stop, she new that he needed her as much as she needed him.

"You should try and get some sleep." Percy said,quietly in her ear.

"I blacked out for well over an hour, your the one that needs some sleep." She scoffed.

"Together, always. We'll sleep at the same time, nothing will happen as we fall and I think once at camp, Mr. D mentioned that the fall to Tartarus takes nine days." Percy replied. Annabeth laughed, "And why did Mr. D mention that I wonder?" Percy coughed nervously and said "I think he was threatening me after I interrupted his pinocle game with Chiron for the fifth time." They both fell silent as memories of Camp Half-Blood swam through their heads, memories of the prophesied seven and the Athena Parthenos. Annabeth gasped as their situation hit her full force, "Percy-, Percy what if-"

"Annabeth, don't you dare start thinking like that, we will fight. We. Will. Live." He said it will such raw determination that he stole her words before she could form a response. So instead, despite her dislike of showing such a weakness she cried, she cried for Piper and Jason, for Leo, Frank and Hazel, for Grover and Juiper, for Chiron, Mr. D, even Reyna, she sobbed her grief and fear onto Percy's T-shirt as he held her like there was no tomorrow, which in their case, there might not be.


	2. The Journey Begins

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***ANNABETH***

Annabeth woke up to whispers, they came from the pit and buzzed all around her head. They were getting louder and faster as they fell, almost as if-

"Percy! We're going to hit the bottom soon, wake up!" She shook his arm frantically, and speculated what lay at the bottom, the more she thought though, the more dark and sinister thoughts began to pollute her mind. They were gloomy and depressing, and definitely not hers. "_The whispers!"_ She realized.

"Percy-, please wake up." She gulped down mouthfuls of air as she became more and more hysterical. Percy stirred beneath her, she grabbed on to him, for reassurance.

"Annabeth wha-, what are you doing? Whats wrong?" He croaked groggily.

"We're getting closer to the bottom, do you hear the whispers getting louder?" He went silent as he listened for the them, without their voices disguising them, they were everywhere, and yes, they were getting louder. He gasped, grabbed her hand, and held on tight,

"Annabeth" he yelled, the whispers were no longer whispers but obnoxious buzzes filling the cavern. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do!" She shrieked back. She felt him readjust himself as he folded her into a fetal position, and then covered her head with his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He was protecting her, from whatever lay below he would shield her from the impact. She fought against the his grip knowing that by protecting her he could very well die. The muscles he got during his stay in New Rome paid off though and she succumbed to his protection.

The voices had reached a deafening tone now and she could barely hear herself speak, Percy yelled something but it was stolen in the wind as they fell.

And then they hit.

Luckily Percy had fast reflexes and absorbed most of their momentum in a roll, but not all. Annabeth felt like she had been crush to a pancake, hit by a truck and scratch by a thousand cats. Her head connected with something hard and a sharp pain rang through her skull. Some where as they were tumbling about, Percy let go of her and rolled off into the darkness. All was silent as they both came to terms with what had just happened, Annabeth was the first to move. She felt to make sure she still had her arms and legs and then sat up, off to the side she heard a scuffing sound as Percy crawled his way over to her. He felt through the dark and held her hand, and they sat like that, listening to each others breathing.

"You okay?" He asked, his voice was hoarse but still held the sweet concern she admired.

"Well I'm still in one piece if that's what you mean." the joke fell flat, and she cursed herself for making it more awkward. He chuckled for her benefit though, and began to feel in his pockets for Riptide.

"It should be in-, ah!" She heard the snap as he uncapped the pen, and sighed with relief as she saw the faint glow of Riptides blade cast across on the floor. Percy smiled and looked at her, a shocked expression etched into his brow.

"What?" She asked, a little self conscious, "Am I that dirty?" He quickly rearranged his features as he heard her annoyance.

"Um-, no but I think we might have knocked heads on the way down, you have a goose bump the size of a strawberry." Annabeth ran her hand across her forehead and felt a good sized lump sitting above her left eyebrow. She grimaced as it began to throb.

"Ya well don't joke, you've got one the size of my fist above _your_ right eye." She said with a smug smile. He felt for the lump as well, and smiled as his fingers glanced over it. She felt a small bit of pleasure at their matching injuries, it was like the strands of gray hair they had both gotten from holding up the sky for Atlas, another test of their partnership.

"Where to now?" He asked sullenly, She glanced around at their dim circle of light. The darkness seemed to lurk around the perimeter sinisterly, almost asking;

_"Take one step out and the horrors will begin, little heroes."_ She shuddered and looked back at Percy, and the minute she saw his scratched face, with his bumpy head and spider webbed hair. She knew that what ever awaited them outside of Riptides glow, they would be able to take on together. They would find a way to the Doors of Death, and close them from the other side... together.

"I guess we start our journey through Tartarus."


	3. The Enemy in the Shadows

***ANNABETH***

They had been walking for hours, at least that's what it felt like, but time was immeasurable when there was no light. Riptide, being but a dim light helped little but was a small luxury in their situation. They walked side by side most of the time, until Percy became too wrapped up in his thoughts and strayed ahead. Annabeth let him think, until he got too far and she became lost without the light, and his response was always the same. A mumbled sorry and then he was back to Percy World. In normal circumstances this might have bothered Annabeth, but she knew that after a fall like that, Percy needed time to mull things over, and she did too. She went over their resources again, a pocket full of ambrosia (that Percy had thought to bring down when he rescued Annabeth from Arachne), a spool of thread that had fallen with them, and Annabeth's emergency dagger that she kept strapped to her thigh (she knew it was Charlies-Angels-Cheesy but a weapons' a weapon). Then she tried to calculate how long they'd been gone, assuming the fall to Tartarus was indeed nine days, (which seemed unlikely, except for the fact that demigods could go longer without food and water than typical mortals), they had already spent one day sleeping and recuperating, which meant they had been down here a total of ten days.

"What do you think the others are up to right now?" Annabeth asked hesitantly. Percy jerked around, almost as if he'd forgotten that he wasn't alone.

"Um-, well lets see, Jason and Piper are probably eating in the mess hall. Hazel is taking care of Nico in sickbay, and Frank and Leo are arguing about Hazel, fire and what ever else they have on their minds." A ghost of a smile crept up his lips as he said this. Annabeth imagined the crew of the Argo II, flying through the sky as they sailed to Greece. She felt her self unraveling at the thought of clear skies and sunny days,_"No." _She told her self, she had to stay strong. Suddenly though, she was snapped out of her thoughts as she ran into a something solid, and warm...

***PERCY***

Annabeth rammed into Percy's back as he came to a halt.

"What is it?" She asked from behind his shoulder, sounding a little miffed that he hadn't given her a heads up.

"Do you here that?" He asked, praying to the gods that it wasn't what he thought it was.

"Here wha-" She fell silent as the sound reached her ears. "What _is_ that?" He could hear her voice tremble as she listened to the noise, she went still behind him. He gripped Riptide tighter and reached behind himself to Annabeth's thigh (if they weren't in Tartarus, he would have blushed), grabbing the dagger he knew she kept there and then pressing it into her shaking hand.

"Annabeth, please, stay strong and fight with me, nothing will happen to you, its okay, _your not_ _alone_." He whispered this to her until he felt her fingers curl around the hilt.

_"Son of Poseidon and Daughter of Athena, you think such a fall could stop me?"_ The shadows hissed,_ "You have come to _me_, and I will take my revenge on you spawns of immortals once and for all."_

A chill crept down Percy's back as he listened to the voice, the voice of Annabeth's worst fear, the voice of Arachne.


	4. Where There's A Will There's A Way

***PERCY***

Arachne lurched forward from the shadows, her eight legs each as wide as Percy's thigh, and gingerly stepped out from the darkness until she was right in front of them. Annabeth had gasped and stumbled backwards, Percy felt the same way but he didn't want Arachne thinking she had the upper hand. He gripped Riptide and took a step forward until he was face to face with four of Arachne's enormous eyes. Each was as large as a dinner plate and as black as the tar they found at that roofing supply company in Utah. She studied him, and it occurred to him that she couldn't kill him, or Annabeth, not without angering her patron.

"I would so wish to rip you demigods limb for limb, and if you cross me I will, but alas Gaea needs your blood for other things." She sounded like a whining child as she said this, like they were her candy that the babysitter had taken away. Then before even Percy knew what she was doing, she had jumped above him and landed between him and Annabeth. Annabeth scurried backwards, and stared up in horror at Arachne's face, Percy cursed silently to himself.

"Ah, Annabeth, the famous designer of Olympus, I do think that Gaea can find a different and more worthy half-blood to replace you." Arachne crept forwards as she said this, like a panther stalking its prey. Percy had to move fast and effectively, but how? He couldn't kill her without her coming back again and again. He had to make her less of a threat, but she was a giant spider, they don't come much more threatening than that. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightening, it dawned on him, he had todisarm her, _literally_. Percy knelt down so her could see under Arachne's torso and motioned for Annabeth to play along, then he stood up and examined his threat. She had two large pincers just under her eyes on the front and a web-dispenser on the back (Percy had no clue what that thing was called). Giving his mind up to his reflexes Percy positioned himself next to Arachne and slashed Riptide with all his might. The celestial bronze blade cut through the spider's flesh and her "web-dispenser" landed on the floor with a solid thud. Arachne emitted a high pitched shriek and whipped around to lunge at Percy, but Percy side stepped her, switched to his newly learned Roman sword skills and stabbed at Arachne's mouth. With each stab she hissed and stumbled after him. Before her knew it she had tripped him with her legs and was on top of him, golden ichor dripped onto Percy's face as she opened her mouth and said,

"Now you will die."

***ANNABETH***

Within only a few seconds, Percy had already managed to get Arachne to hate him more than Annabeth. But now he was trapped and Arachne was about to decapitate him despite Gaea's orders. Annabeth gulped down a few mouthfuls of air to calm herself and grabbed her dagger which had clattered out of her palm earlier. Then she began to crawl over to Percy and the spider, Arachne was to absorbed in threatening Percy to hear her as she approached. Despite every nerve in her body telling her to run the other way, Annabeth crept under Arachne's body, she had a good four feet of clearance and made sure not to touch the hairy, black skin above her. She crawled until she was right under Arachne's head, just out of view of her eyes, her torso was slightly on top of Percy's lower body as she positioned herself to strike. Arachne drove her fangs straight to Percy's chest, but before they could penetrate his skin, Annabeth rolled and thrust her dagger upward, slicing the pincers clean off of the spiders face. Arachne yelped and scuttled backwards, one of her legs lifted up to feel for her missing pincers, her black eyes glared at Annabeth and she slowly began to back away into the darkness,

"You might have taken away my obvious weapons daughter of Athena, but I can still strangle you as you sleep, demigods." She said maliciously.

"You can try, but we'll just whittle you down further Arachne, where there's a will there's a way." Annabeth said confidently as Arachne melted into the shadows. From behind her she heard Percy moving, but when she turned and look he was hunched over and moaning.

** *PERCY***

Percy felt worthless, he was a demigod and he was rolling on the floor in pain for nothing, how pathetic. He heard Annabeth run over to him and kneel next to him,

"Percy?! Did she bite you? Are you okay?!" She asked hysterically, Percy took a deep breathe and said "I'm fine Annabeth, really, just give me a sec." He heard her rustle through her pockets and her palm came into view holding a square of ambrosia,

"Annabeth honestly I'm fine, see? Its already passed." He said, as he began to stand, he felt so stupid.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked curiously as she pocketed the ambrosia. Percy laughed nervously, "When you rolled over to stab Arachne, you also elbowed me pretty hard in the-, well you know." Annabeth stifled a laugh as he said this and hugged him,

"Sorry Seaweed Brain, next time I'll be more careful." She chuckled in his ear as he held her, enjoying her laughter, and realizing that the last time he heard it was when they had slept in the stables together, so long ago.

**Hey, so post a review, tell me what you think... please! Get the word out if you like it, tell me what to do to fix it if ya' don't:)**


	5. The Distance between Lovers

***ANNABETH***

Annabeth tore off her shredded jacket as they continued to walk through the darkness, she was boiling. They had only been walking for about two hours and not encountered much besides Arachne, who had been trying to kill them (but without pincers, she stood no chance). At first she thought that she was just getting hot because of the amount of walking they had done, but as time passed she could feel the stagnant air around her begin to get hotter. She glanced over at Percy, who was panting as sweat beaded at his brow. He saw her watching him and forced a smile;

"Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" He smirked. She grimaced, _if only_, she thought.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I doubt its you." She rolled her eyes as he smiled, "What do you think it is?" She asked quietly, he turned his head away from her and squinted out into the darkness. "Well its kind of obvious isn't it?" He asked, still facing away from her, so that she had to strain to hear his voice. "Obvious? Gods, Percy how could anything by obvious in Tartarus?" She groaned, annoyed that whatever he thought was obvious, it hadn't occurred to her.

"Well, we're in Tartarus, aka Hell. And unless I'm mistaken, Hell is known to be hot, like a volcanic pit of fire and Hell is pretty universal so..." He trailed of thoughtfully as Annabeth absorbed this information. How had she not seen it? Percy reached for her hand and squeezed it, the look in his eyes settled her whirring mind, his eyes were like the calm before a storm. And even though there was a storm coming, the calm was still, well, calming. She needed it too, ever since they had started walking she had felt weaker and weaker, which had just made her freak out even more. His mouth quirked up at the corners, almost as if he could hear her heart slowing down, as if he knew how helpful he was to her. She blushed and turned her head looking out into the oblivion. Riptide cast a blueish glow across the smooth rock floors, making their location even more eerie than it already was. Her eyes trailed the floor of the cavern (at least that's what she assumed it looked like), as she looked for anything helpful she caught something glint out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head slowly as she prepared for another ambush from Arachne. Then she saw it, an owl.

***PERCY***

Percy had been watching Annabeth, her long gold hair curled around her shoulders as she swung around, looking for clues to a way out. He was exhausted and the darkness was beginning wear on his mind. He tried to stay alert but it felt like his strength was being sapped out of him, he assumed it was Gaia, but there was no place for him to climb, no sea for him to swim in, he was trapped on the ground where she was strongest. Percy felt slow, like he was trying to run through mud and see through fog, it was dragging him down. _Percy. Percy. Percy! _Percy jolted as he woke from his stupor, Annabeth was calling his name. He glanced around and found her standing next to him worriedly;

"Are you okay?" She asked, as she extended one hand to grasp his. He tried to remember what happened, all that came to him were jumbled thoughts though. "I'm fine, sorry I'm just tired I guess." He shook his head, trying to jolt his brain back into place. She glanced at him, concern written all over her face.

"Annabeth, I'm fine really, what did you need?" She watched him for another few seconds and nodded to herself.

"I found an owl Percy, the Mark of Athena. My Mother must be helping us somehow." She said excitedly, he frowned, "But the gods can't come to Tartarus."

"Percy, everyone has said they don't go into Tartarus, that doesn't mean that they can't." As her words washed over him he gasped. A smile broke across his face as the facts clicked together, "Shes showing us a way out, isn't she?" Annabeth grinned back, "It seems like it." As the hope of their situation flared up inside of him he moved forward in two large strides and grasped Annabeth in a hug, energy surged through him as he held her close, rejoicing in the hope of their escape. Then she went limp in his arms.

***ANNABETH***

Annabeth wavered in and out of consciousness, her energy came in frequent surges until she was awake enough to open her eye. She peeked between the lashes and saw the glow of riptide cast across her skin. She opened the other eye and propped herself up on one elbow, sitting across from her, almost engulfed in darkness was Percy. He had his head between his knees and was pulling at his hair with his hands so that it stuck up in chunks here and there. Annabeth slowly got up on her hands and knees and began to crawl towards him. He put up his hand, motioning for her to stop and proceeded to lift his head.

"Don't come closer, I swear I- I- think I'm losing it Annabeth." His words slurred at the ends, just enough that she barely caught it.

"Percy- what's wrong, what happened?" She was terrified at what she had missed as she was unconscious. Percy looked at her, mirroring her expression.

"I don't know, I've been feeling foggy ever since we started walking and then when you told me about the owl I felt good again, like I was before. Then you passed out when I hugged you and I was foggy again but it gotch worsh." He slurred his last two words like a drunken and held his head between his hands. She began to crawl to him, to comfort him, but he looked up suddenly, terrified.

"Stop!" He said, putting his hand up again. "The closher yo'ar the worshe it getchs." He said as he scooted back farther into the darkness. She looked at him, her heart broke to see him so tortured and vulnerable, and to know that it was because of her. She stood up but thought better as she crouched to the floor, in case she fainted again. As she crawled back to riptide she considered what Percy had said, and mulled it over in her head. Then using Riptide as a crutch she stood, but she didn't need Riptide, she couldn't even get up on her knees, her legs trembled violently as she wobbled precariously on all fours. _Maybe Percy was right, the distance between us is affecting us both._


	6. I Win

***ANNABETH***

_Annabeth opened her eyes, the sun was high in the sky and shone down on her, warming her from her head to the tips of her toes. She tipped back her head and soaked in the light, relishing the vitamin D with her eyes lightly shut. She saw with her ears as she listened to her surroundings and tried to guess where she was. The first thing she noticed was the babble of voices in the background, there were different pitches and tones to each voices, so much so that they blended into a complicated symphony. Yet there was a slight accent to the voices that struck a cord in her memory, it was far from the harsh New Yorker accents she had grown up with as a child but just as familiar. She also heard the grate of metal against stone, and felt the hard pattern of wrote-iron through her shirt as she leaned against her chair. _So a metal chair and table in an outdoor area surrounded by people, _she thought to herself. As her senses became more attuned to her surroundings she froze, her arms and the back of her neck pickled with the knowledge that someone was near her. In fact, she guessed that they were sitting across from her. Annabeth opened her eyes and looked around, she was in New Rome, the accents she heard were of the California natives, like her father. The marble of the temples and store fronts gleamed white in the sun's rays, as Annabeth shielded her eyed from the glare her gaze settled on a figure in front of her, who gazed intently into her eyes._

_ "Percy." She breathed. The figure smiled and leaned forward, out of the shadow cast by the terrace above them. _

_ "Its about time you wake up wise-girl." He said with a gleam in his eye. "What- wait where are we?" Annabeth asked worriedly as she glanced around. Percy looked at her, a question written upon his brow, "Uh, New Rome." He said. _

_ "No- I mean I __knew _that_" Annabeth said impatiently, "I meant how did we get here?" Percy's brow furrowed even further, "Well, you flew here on a giant trireme, ninja-kicked me to the ground and __then walked with me over to this cafe for the best hot chocolate in the world." He said this with a straight face until the 'worlds best hot chocolate' part and then a smile split across his lips. Memories of the trireme and ninja-kick fill her mind, but after that she had memories of the incident with Leo and their quick departure from New Rome instead._

_ "Percy, are you sure about that, cause I'm pretty sure we blew away any chance of a friendship with Rome... literally." Percy looked at her like she had Hydra heads and the horns of the Minotaur. "Annabeth- no, the Romans wrote up an official peace treaty and Octavian deemed our arrival a 'good omen' with another Pillow Pet not ten minutes ago!" Percy grasped her hand in his, it felt real and not at all like a dream hand would, and though Annabeth knew that the time line of her life didn't sync up, she relished in the contact and decided to just 'go with the flow'. Percy's chair screeched as he scooted away from the table and stood, Annabeth joined him and they began to walk down the cobblestone walkway. The sun was deliciously warm across Annabeth's back, maybe even a bit too hot for her liking. After a few minutes of quiet, thoughtful walking, Percy spoke; _

_ "I missed you Annabeth." He ducked his head down to look her straight in the eyes as he said this, "Don't you leave me agai-" But Annabeth had reached up on her tip-toes and silenced him with her lips. Percy rocked back, surprised but soon returned the kiss, as soft as a falling feather. Annabeth sighed and twined her fingers into his black hair, and soon, his were knotted in her's. (Annabeth grumbled internally, she loved hot weather but hot weather plus hot boy was downright sweltering.) Their kiss was gaining strength now, as Percy held her waist and they pressed together, oblivious to the outside world. Percy held her cheek with his palm and whispered against her mouth;_

_ "I love yo-" The heat around her was unbearable and her eyes flew open, only to see darkness._

_ *__**PERCY**__*_

Percy woke up immediately when he heard Annabeth's terrified yelp, he needed to stop moving, except there was nothing to stop, he wasn't the one moving. Percy was laid out on his stomach over something prickly and uncomfortable and Annabeth was clearly tied up next to him, as Percy tried to move he realized he too had constraints lashed over him. He wriggled his head to turned and look at Annabeth,

"You alright?" She looked at him wide-eyed, lips parting in an unsaid question, "Uh ya, just wondering where we're headed, what we're riding on, and for the millionth time; why didn't I bring a flashlight." Percy could hear the smile creeping across her face, "I was just asking myself the same thing, except for the flashlight; I've got Riptide." Percy's smile faded as he squirmed around, trying to feel his pockets, "Correction: I _had _Riptide." Annabeth chuckled, "So Any clue where we are?" She asked curiously. He imagined all of the possibilities and grimaced, he felt pretty empty; like all of the terror that should have been making his stomach a whirlpool had been drained out of him. Percy sighed, "10 bucks if its one of Gaea's minions, 15 if its Arachne again." Annabeth laughed, it sounded like she was pretty empty too. Percy decided then that it didn't matter what they faced, as long as they were together when they did. The mass under him shifted, and he sneezed as the stiff hairs poked his face.

_"Try not to spew your disgusting bodily fluids on me you spawn of Poseidon" _

Percy scowled into the darkness, recognizing the voice at once as it struck a cord of deep hatred in his memory of the past few days. He took a deep breath, "I win 15 dollars."


	7. Not Even A God

***ANNABETH***

Annabeth never cursed, but now seemed like a good a time as any to start. She was tied to the hairy enemy of her mother, with no where to go, no way to see, and no weapon in reach. She took a breath about to let out a string of curse words that would make even Ares cringe, but Percy beat her to it. "Where the hell are you taking us?" He said angrily, as he began to squirm under the restraints, "What the f-" He began, Annabeth jumped in before he could finish that statement, "Arachne!" She yelled, "where are you taking us, where are we?" The prickly mass under her shifted and a hissing answer was delivered from the blackness. _"I am right here, no need to yell you ungrateful brat! I'm taking you to my mistress, the savior of this world, Gaea." _Percy feigned surprise, "Seriously! I had no clue she was after us!" _"Well of course child! Who did you- wait was that sarcasm?" _Arachne's voice took on a questionable tone, Percy sighed, "Figure it out." Annabeth sighed, _how on earth, through this whole endeavor can he have the heart to joke,_ she thought to herself even though she appreciated his attempts at lifting the mood. Her mind was whirling in circles as she tried to fit the puzzle pieces together and deduce where they were headed. She wasn't sure if Gaea would want to bring them all the way to the Doors of Death, or try and take them in the opposite direction. She prayed that both they and Gaea had a common goal of reaching the doors, traveling on a spider that knows her way is faster than trying to feel your way through the daunting darkness. She tried to shove against the ropes that bonded her, and reach out to Percy, he was her only comfort, her only solace. The ropes, or webs she assumed were too tightly woven. She went limp and tried to control her shaking frame, the stress and fear were beginning to fray her nerves even further. Annabeth prided herself on keeping her head in dangerous situations, but this was beyond her capacity of calm, her breathing became ragged and panicked. "Annabeth calm down, your save wit meh." His voice began to slur like before as her breathing became more more rapid. "Anbet, SPOT!" She heard a muted thud as his head landed on the spider's back. She tried to slow her breathing but the longer he was unconscious the more she felt short of breath. Annabeth didn't know what was happening, she could literally feel her strength being sapped from her body, like a magnet was draining the blood from her veins. Right before she passed out, Arachne whispered a throaty chuckle and said, _"Well, well, well, if you keep up like this Gaea will have to find two new sacrifices; you'll kill each other before she can get to you." _Annabeth blacked out.

***PERCY***

Percy blinked and tried to lift his heavy eyelids, Arachne was moving faster now, the stagnant air was now whipping past his ears and ruffling his hair. He nudged Annabeth with his foot and was answered with a weak grunt. "You okay Annabeth?" He whispered, "Good as I'll ever get, I think I just passed out for a second." She said, uncertainty coloring her voice. Percy assumed he had just dozed off, actually he couldn't remember what happened at all. He scowled into the darkness, frustrated with his own memory. _"You children are doomed to die, but I must deliver you safety to please the goddess, we are almost there, prepare." _Arachne's voice rung in the darkness around them, he pressed against his restraints and made a grab for Annabeth, his hand grazed her side and she leaned into his touch. He knew that wherever they were going, it wasn't going to be a piece of cake. Percy dreaded meeting Gaea but as he learned when battling Luke, fate had a habit of getting its way, no matter what. Under his finger tips he felt Annabeth gasp, under his body he felt Arachne stop, under his eyelids he felt his mind go blank, as he was blinded by the light.

***ANNABETH***

Percy had managed to soothe her frayed nerves, until she was blinded. The light was so bright, it was from a fire, that much she could tell. She squished her eyes tight until the spots had erased themselves from her vision. Before her stood a gaping pit of fire that boiled and spit sparks up into the cavern. Annabeth gasped and turned to Percy; he was gaping with his mouth hanging, at their surroundings. They seemed to be in an enormous cavern, at least the width of five football fields, and the length of seven. Smack in the middle was a deep pit, filled with boiling magma; bubbles made their way to the surface and popped, sending bright orange raindrops into air. Off on the left side of the cavern were crowds of shapes, Annabeth couldn't tell what there were, only that the were shrouded figures that seemed to melt into the shadows when they moved. On the right side there was a sparkling black temple; it reflected the fiery pit like an evil mirror and warped the image into an intimidating light show. As Arachne moved towards the dark temple, the shadow-shapes began to hiss and whisper, they buzzed like the summer cicadas down in Virginia. Their voices combined were deafening and gave her chills; like nails on a chalkboard. Arachne hissed back at them, the shadows gave her a wide berth as she made her way up the obsidian steps. Just when Annabeth thought she was going to lose it again Percy coughed, "Hey Annabeth, how about those columns... there architecturally um- good, huh?" He tried to hide his fear with the goal of distracting her from her own. She gave him the best smile she could manage and examined the columns for his benefit. As her eyes roamed over the intricate arches supporting the ceiling, it dawned on her. Annabeth knew then with an unwavering certainty that whether they died or if the the world was destroyed by their blood; she was lucky to have met Percy and loved him as long as she had. There was no other being in the world that she would wish to have by her side when she faced Gaia, not even a god.


	8. Your Lucky

***PERCY***

Percy couldn't believe this eyes, first of all he could see, second of all the sights weren't pretty. To begin with he was still strapped to Arachne's hairy back and they were making their way up the steps to a black temple that even Hades wouldn't want to live in. Also, Annabeth and he assumed himself looked well, like they had been in a Party Pony stampede. Annabeth's goose bump was still on her forehead, it was an ugly shade of purple and it looked like she got cut by something on her cheek as well. She also had who-knows-what smeared across her face but that was a given, they had been underground for what felt like months. He could only imagine what his face looked like. With difficulty he dragged his eyes away from her and examined their surroundings. All around the temple there were crowds of shadows, they were swaying in unity like a perfectly choreographed dance.

_ "Children, alert the Master that we have arrived." _Arachne said, three little spiders scurried out from the mob of shadows and ran up the steps and into the temple. Arachne took one step at a time, as if she was relishing in her victory, which she probably was. Percy rolled his eyes, he glanced over at Annabeth who was still admiring the architecture; a little smile was beginning to creep up her face. She looked down at him as her mouth broke into a grin, for a second he was blinded all over again. Annabeth smiled at him like he was the greatest person in the world, even through the muck and dirt she still managed to take his breath away.

***ANNABETH***

Annabeth let out a rare giggle as she watched Percy go into SIS (Smile-Induced-Shock). His eyes were wide and he looked dumfounded. She loved that with only the movement of a few facial muscles she could incapacitate a sixteen year old boy in a matter of seconds. It was definitely empowering; even though she could just as easily incapacitate him with her dagger and a few well-placed kicks. Just as she was about to comment on his gaping mouth, Arachne stopped.

_"__Taraxippus'! Take them to the throne room and do NOT let them out of your sight!" _Four shadow-shapes came forwards and began to untie Annabeth and Percy. _Taraxippus! Of course!_ Annabeth thought to herself! She recalled learning about the monsters at Camp Half-Blood; they were ghosts that were most known for making horses skittish at chariot races, they seemed to have taken up a new hobby as of late. As the last knot came loose she let out a huge breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Finally the tight constraints were gone, she had a heck of a cramp in her, well, her whole body. The Taraxippus grabbed her by each arm and hoisted her from the spider's back, they looked like clouds of mist, but felt solid. Annabeth stretched her sore legs and surrendered to be guided up the stone steps, Percy was on her right; as they walked he kept glancing over at her, trying to gauge her expression. She gave him a half-hearten smile and kept walking. Finally they got to the top, Annabeth looked back at Arachne who was now giving orders to the other Taraxippus'. She looked down at the giant fiery pit and at the wide expanse of empty cavern floor, from her view she could discern no exit; not even the doors, if that was indeed where they were. The Taraxippus gave her a push as she walked through the towering black doors of the temple.

***PERCY***

Percy was so relieved to be out from on top of Arachne that he could almost forget that they were currently walking into a probable death trap. Annabeth was analyzing their surrounding landscape when the Shadow-shape shoved her through the doorway; that alone made him want to deck their captors. The throne room was as black as the outer facade, the walls were lined with torches that burned blue; and the floor was coated in a thin layer of dirt.

"Looks like Gaia hasn't heard of a mud-room." Percy said to Annabeth, he was rewarded with a forced grimace (he knew that joke was bad) and a punch in the ribs by the shadow-shape. At the end of the narrow room, there was a single throne, woven out of thick roots that intertwined with each other in a chaotic yet beautiful formation. Sitting in the chair was a humanoid figure made out of what seemed like clay. Percy and Annabeth stopped ten feet from the throne, the shadow-shapes released them and stood to block the doorway with locked arms. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for what was to come, unconsciously his hand reached for Annabeth's and all at once she was in his arms. He held her like tight to his body and ran his hand through her ratty hair. He kept his left arm tightly wrapped around her waist as her arms locked around his neck. Her face was pressed against his neck and he felt her whole body go limp as she finally relaxed in his arms. He squeezed her tight;

"Per- Percy" she said in a strangled voice, "your squeezing too tight." He released her and laughed, "Sorry Wise-Girl, I've missed you." She gave him a dazzling smile again and untangled her arms, taking her place besides him to face the dais.

***ANNABETH***

The clay figure sat up and looked at her with dead eyes, it looked like one of those adjustable, wooden drawing models that sat in her school's art classroom. It was a human shaped figure; but it had no definite features besides eye indention's and a line for a mouth. As she watched the line split and a rudimentary mouth began to move. The voice was gravelly but most definitely Gaea,

_"Well hello little heroes, its about time you come to my domain." _The figure's mouth turned at the corners into a gruesome smile and the body shook with silent laughter. But before Annabeth could react, Percy took advantage of Gaia's momentary distraction and lunged. He catapulted onto the dais and slammed into the root throne, but before he could get to the clay person, it got to him. The brown shape stood up and punched Percy in the stomach, Annabeth's breath went out in a whoosh as Percy slammed and slid across the marble floor. She gasped and fell to her knees as Percy rolled over and began advancing towards the figure again. Annabeth knew what was happening this time though, she knew that if Percy kept fighting she would lose conscious like the previous times. She had to stop it before it started. Annabeth braced herself on all fours and began to get to her feet,

"Percy! Percy stop!" She yelled, he looked over at her and stopped dodging the slashes from the clay man. "Wha-" He began, but he was cut off as a kick was landed in his gut. Annabeth choked back her nausea and held on to the ground as another wave of dizziness swept over her. Annabeth screamed,

"PERCY!" she took another gulp of air, "Percy please!" And then she played the wild card; she preyed on her boyfriend's one fool proof weakness, herself.

"PERCY YOUR HURTING ME!" She screamed with all her might and was rewarded with his undivided attention. He immediately landed a karate kick to the clay mans abdomen and caused the figure to slam backwards into the root throne. Then just as fast as it had begun, it ended and Percy was by her side; cradling her in his arms.

"Annabeth what? What do you mean _I_ hurt you? I'm so sorry, what can I do to help, forgive me." He stared so intently into her face that she was taken aback by the self-disgust she saw clearly written in his expression.

"Percy, its a trap, we're connected somehow; every time _you_ get hurt _I_ go unconscious. And anytime _I_ get hurt _you _start to slur you words and pass out!" Annabeth could literally see the gears turning in Percy's head, but before he could react a shadow covered their bodies and blocked out the light coming from the doorway.

_"I see you have finally noticed your _uncanny_ ability at surviving."_ Gaia's voice observed.

"What do you mean _ability_?" Annabeth spat back, Percy tensed up behind her and held on tighter.

_"Well, how else would two half-bloods have survived down in the deepest part of hell without your ichor?" _The clay man mumbled through his unmoving mouth.

"Ichor? As in godly blood? But everyone knows half-bloods inherit their mortal parent's biological anatomy." Percy said, all the fear in his voice had been replaced by complete interest. Annabeth was just as enamored with this knew breakthrough.

_"Clearly the gods have withheld this information from you then. All half-bloods are born with mortal blood; yet within a small part of it flows the ichor of the gods. Let me show you." _At this the clay man held out his hand, Percy looked to Annabeth, shrugged, and put his hand in the clay's. At first the figure didn't react, but then as fast as a bullet he slashed down in Percy's palm and gave him a shallow cut the length of a Q-tip, with what looked like a rock. Percy yelped and tried to pull away but the hand held tight.

_"Look child; look at the blood of your race"_ Percy grimaced and squinted down at this hand, as his eyes began to widen Annabeth got to her knees and looked too. Percy's palm was beginning to pool with his blood; but this time Annabeth knew what to look for, as she examined his blood she saw what she always did, red. But when she really looked hard she saw a faint gleam, like someone had mixed fine, gold powder into it, ichor.

_It is common knowledge that if a god is not worshiped or thought of regularly then their power is greatly reduced" _continued Gaia,_ "and eventually they are erased from this world, immortal means they can never be _killed_, but that doesn't mean they cannot be forgotten." _The figure paused, waiting for acknowledgment.

"Uh, yes." Annabeth said as she glanced, confused, at Percy.

_"In order to stay alive the gods literally feed off of the peoples prayers, and sometimes the other immortals. In some extreme cases the gods have been known to take energy from their peers; but since they are all-powerful beings, they do not feel the side effects that their children do." _Annabeth still didn't understand and clearly Percy didn't either. _"This _survival instinct_ was passed down to their offspring, ensuring their progression and completion of major quests. But half-bloods are not immortal, they can feel the results of such actions and sometimes they even kill each other." _Percy interrupted,

"But if its a survival instinct then why would half-bloods die?" The clay figure paused and glared down at him for a few minutes, then resumed.

_"_Because_ if both half-bloods are in danger, they are feeding off of each other at the same time; giving no time for the other to actually recover from the energy drainage. For example, in your own case, you two have survived in the darkest of places on little food, water, and sleep. The only reason you two have pulled through has been because you have been feeding off of each other." _

"But we both have different reactions to this instinct; Percy begins to slur his speech and I get dizzy and we both pass out." Annabeth said, her tone had lost all attitude and had been replaced by her typical knowledge-seeking self.

_"Well, since each of your godly parents has his or her own domains, you two naturally feed off of what is part of that domain. Annabeth," _She said quietly, _"your mother is the Goddess of Wisdom, so as expected, when you are in intense danger or are severely injured, you feed off of the intellect of the closest half-blood; in this case it is Percy, he slurs his speech because you are stealing his intelligence." _Percy huffed by her side,

"So essentially Annabeth is making me dumber."

_"In that sense, yes." _the clay man answered, Annabeth nudged his side, "Sorry." she mumbled, but they both knew she couldn't help it.

_"And you Percy,"_ she continued, _"your father is the God of the Sea; so you feed off of the salt and water that runs through Annabeth's veins, hence her dizzy spells. Yet when you both reach your limit of energy reduction your body cannot go on and you fall unconscious, your lucky that death has not taken you sooner..."_


	9. Stormy & Gray

***ANNABETH***

All was silent in the throne room, besides the shallow breathing of Percy who still clutched her to his chest, there was nothing. The clay man was quiet; waiting for them to make the first move. Annabeth turned carefully in his lap until she was facing Percy's shocked face. Their eyes locked, his eyes spoke more than his voice ever could. She saw surprise and fear swimming around in the depths of his sea-green eyes. But as quickly as it was there, it was gone; he immediately put on his brace face and gave her a false smile. His hand crept up to hold her cheek, but the words of Gaea echoed through her head; they had to heal before they could be together. She gently stopped his hand and pushed it back to his chest, she saw the beginning of hurt enter his expression but it was quickly chased away with understanding as he slid her away from him and stood up. The clay man held his ground as Percy advanced towards it,

"Gaea..." Percy faltered, there really wasn't anything to say; without knowing where they were or what day it was there was nothing they could do to escape. If they ran now and were actually miles away from the doors they would be endangering the whole mission; if they stayed and it was the day before the ritual then they would be surrendering unknowingly.

_"I see that you two have reached your wits end; you have played directly into my trap. In three days time the planets will align and your blood will be spilled on the roots of the gods. But for now we must prepare you; first you must gain back you health. A weak sacrifice has no purpose to me." _Gaea said, her voice was like ice through Annabeth's veins. Then it clicked, in order to carry on successfully with this mission they had to be at the top of their game, but that meant that her and Percy had to be separated for who knows how long. Percy turned around, his eyes wide, his expression screamed unsaid terror. The two taraxippus from before grabbed each one of her arms and began leading her from the throne room to a small door on the far wall. Percy hesitated and then surrendered to his two guards; allowing them to lead him through the opposite doorway, Annabeth's heart went with him.

***PERCY***

Percy was lost. He had no Wise-girl to tell him what to do or where to go. He still didn't know what the shadow-shapes were that had led him here; usually Annabeth told him. He had been laying on a cold slab of stone for hours as the shadows cleaned and dressed his wounds, stitched up a nasty cut on his thigh and fed him ambrosia and nectar. Then they had left but he still couldn't relax, his body was on high-alert. He jumped at any sound and instinctively reached for Riptide, who had still not returned to his pocket, he didn't even remember where he had dropped it. Percy sat up and swung his legs off the rock slab, he winced as his sore limbs stretched and moved, he hadn't even realized how sore he was until the cookie flavored ambrosia began to kick in. Percy examined his room; it was made of a gray stone and had only a wood door. The door had no lock and no doorknob, it was only accessible from the outside. Percy sighed, he could think of no way out, but he knew that he had to regain his strength to even stand a chance against the Earth Queen. So, before he could change his mind, Percy laid back down on his stone bed and closed his eyes; and he dreamed of a pair of stormy gray eyes.

***ANNABETH***

Annabeth opened her eyes and had one of those moments where she couldn't remember where she was. Then the previous night's excitement had slowly begun to come back to her, and her heart sunk lower and lower as she remembered their predicament. After the taraxippus had patched her up and given her dinner she immediately slept. She knew how weak she was and that without her health she was of no use to anyone. As they were feeding her she stole some extra ambrosia and hid it in her shirt; and as the night wore on she slowly ate up the square of godly food, only stopping when she felt feverish. Now that it was morning she felt significantly better; on examination she saw that the majority of her cuts had become scabs and her bruises had faded to yellow. Before she could stand to feel her limbs she heard the footsteps of the taraxippus coming down the hallway with her morning meal. An idea had come to her in the middle of the night; now was her time to act. Annabeth scanned the room and saw small crack that ran across the front, right corner of her stone bed, quickly with all the strength she could muster she brought her two fists down on the corner of the stone, Annabeth felt the stone give slightly but she needed more force. Her architect perspective kicked in and she examine the crack predicting that if she kicked from the opposite side it would weaken the stone enough to break. She slid off the slab and laid on the ground with her legs straight up; then she took a deep breath and slammed her heel upward straight into the weakest point, there was a muffled crack and a sharp thud as the stone fragment fell next to her head. Annabeth stood up and set the rock right next to the doorway, and quickly sat back down making sure her body covered the chipped corner. She sat down right as the taraxippus opened the door and came towards her, it made faint hissing sounds and set the food platter down next to her. It turned around immediately and retreated back towards the door, but before the door closed Annabeth picked up the apple next to her and channeled all of her javelin throwing into this one toss. As the apple left her fingers the door began to shut, but just in time the fruit hit the rock piece and pushed it right into the pathway of the closing door. The taraxippus grunted thinking the apple was meant for him; and unknowingly closed the door, jamming it on the rock chip. The sound of aggravated hissing retreated down the hallway and was no more. Annabeth released the huge breath she had been holding, she leaped up and put her ear next to the cracked door, listening for any other movement. There was nothing; Annabeth squatted down and began to pry the door open with her fingertips; the rock had gotten stuck in the doorway. After a few minutes of clawing at the wood she managed to weasel the rock out. Quietly she grabbed the door and silently pulled it open; inspecting the hallway as she went. After looking down each hallway she chose her left side; remembering the tapestry on the wall from her trip down here yesterday. Annabeth quietly snuck down the corridor; up ahead she noticed the blue glow from the throne room, and knowing that Percy was taken down the other hallway, she continued on.

***PERCY***

_Percy opened his eyes, he was standing on the deck of the Argo II; the sky was gray and stormy. He scanned the landscape below them and saw Camp Half-Blood, all was well. The Big House sat at the top of the hill, campers were running around; playing capture the flag, canoeing, and climbing the rock wall. He straightened up and glanced around the deck, Leo was fiddling with the controls towards the bow. Percy felt wrong, he knew that this wasn't right, he was supposed to be somewhere else; they were on a mission. He shook his head and went over to Leo,_

_ "Hey man! Where have you been; Annabeth was looking for you." Leo said nonchalantly. "Where are we going? We have the mission, we're supposed to be in Greece!" Percy said, confused. Leo turned around and pushed his engineer goggles up into his curly, black hair. _

_ "Uh- not-so-news-flash Percy, but we finished that whole thing like a week ago." Leo laughed, "Don't tell me you forgot my awesome duel with the giant uh Phot- Hei-, oh whatever. I can never keep their names straight anyways." Leo laughed and gave Percy a playful punch in the arm. Percy had no clue what Leo was talking about; he couldn't remember them even reaching the Doors of Death let alone defeating Gaea and flying back home. He was just about to ask if this was some kind of a joke but Leo's expression started looking majorly concerned; so he decided to take the Smile & Nod approach. _

_ "Oh ya!" Percy feigned remembrance, "Sorry my mind blanked out for a sec, I totally remember that!" Percy smiled and patted Leo on the back, "Hey, so do you know where Annabeth is? __I shouldn't keep her waiting if she was looking for me." Leo's face began to soften up and soon it was wiped clean of the suspicious expression that had begun to show. _

_ "Ya! I think she said to tell you the stables?" Leo's eyebrows went up when he said that; but Percy couldn't be sure, seeing as he turned back towards the consul and began messing with his Wii remote again. Percy blushed as the "stables" incident came back to him. He turned and headed to the stairs; worried that Leo would turned around and see him blushing like an idiot. When he hit the bottom of the staircase, he practically sprinted to the stables; and before he knew it he was bursting through the door to the bottom of the ship; and was welcomed by a set of stormy, gray eyes. _

_ "Percy! Where have you been? I looked everywhere!" Annabeth stood up from the saddle blanket which sat on the bombay doors. Percy smiled, took two big strides and wrapped Annabeth into a huge bear hug; that "wrong" feeling was still tugging on the corner of his conscious. _

_ "What's that for?" Annabeth asked as they separated and took their places back on the blanket. "For being amazing." Percy said, and he was rewarded with one of her most incapacitating smiles ever. He was planning on asking her what had happened back in Greece, but the longer he looked into her eyes the more he forgot what he was going to ask. Until it was all but wiped clean from his memory, but he didn't care because Annabeth had begun to talk again, and that meant her lips were moving, which meant that Percy didn't hear a thing she said. In his opinion it seemed a shame to have her waste her words on him when there were other things that she could do with her lips, without really meaning to Percy leaned forward and silenced her. In the back of his mind he realized that this whole "kissing-in-the-stables thing" was becoming an unavoidable habit. She sighed and leaned into him, he cradled her cheek with his hand as her fingers entwined in his hair. Percy's brain was blank, there was only Annabeth. Her lips, her eyes, her hair, her face, her shoulders, her arms. She quietly gasped when his palm cupped her waist, Annabeth's hands rested on his chest as they kissed; he felt as if his whole body was melting. Her hand slid down his side and rested on the hem of his T-shirt, _

_ "Percy" She whispered. _

And then he woke up to a stormy pair of gray eyes.


End file.
